Hibiscus Petroleum has largely attributed a surge in profits to its North Sea operations.
The Malaysian oil and gas operator has reported pre-tax profits for the first half of 2019 of £41.2million, up from just £4.3m in the same period last year.
Hibiscus said the significant improvement was down to its recently acquired North Sabah assets in Malaysia and higher production efficiency at its Anasuria Cluster in the UK.
The firm’s subsidiary, Anasuria Hibiscus UK (AHUK) operates the cluster in the central North Sea with a 50% interest.
It’s comprised of the Teal, Teal South and Guillemot A fields, as well as 19.3% non-operating interest in the P185 licence consisting of the Cook field, with production going through the Anasuria FPSO.
In its results, Hibiscus said the UK branch sold 797,914 barrels of oil in the financial year to date, taking revenues of £45.9million.
It comes after the firm also completed a £28.5m deal for two North Sea blocks in October, now known as the “Marigold” and “Sunflower” discoveries.
The firm said the concept select phase for developing the prospects is due to be completed mid-2019, with fixed platform, floating solutions and tieback options being considered.
Hibiscus managing director Kenneth Pereira said: “The Group’s total net oil production rate is approximately 8,850 barrels per day from two producing assets.
“Our asset teams from both Anasuria and North Sabah are targeting to execute production enhancement projects that could potentially enhance our net production to over 12,000 barrels of oil per day by 2021.
“Additionally, we have commenced the evaluation of options to develop the Marigold and Sunflower discovered oilfields in the UK, which hold potential to drive significant future earnings growth once these fields commence production.
“We are excited by the activities that lay ahead for Hibiscus Petroleum and hope these developments will act as positive value enhancing triggers for our shareholders.”
